“Reggae Wellness Expo & Music Festival Mission Focus Is Honoring And Recognizing Unsung Jamaican Music Pioneers & Providing Exposing For Jamaica’s Next Generation Of Music Stars Each Year At The Annual Event. “RW” Mission Is To Always Be A Beacon And Champion Of Encouragement For Reggae Music Workers.”

Jamaica is commonly known as the Reggae Capital of the world and home to many great well known reggae bands and even more great reggae singers. Behind every great reggae vocalist’s live show, there was always a great bandleader that help bring their music to life.

“Bingie” has been bandleader for hundreds of these act over the last 20 years, unlike the stars he played behind, many outside the reggae arena have no knowledge of his achievements over that time.

In 1987 Mckenzie form the band “FM Force Band” with Sanchez as lead singer, Sanchez left the band in 1988 to pursue a solo career. Afterward He decided to changed the name of the band to (High Symbol Band).High Symbol Band with original members consisting of members: Ludlow “Bingie” Lloyd’ Mckenzie-(bandleader/bass), Bernard’ Powell-(drums), Elana Lewis-(guitar), Noel Davy-(keyboards),Garth Gray-(keyboards).

“Bingie” has toured extensively in the Caribbean, Mexico, where he is revered as an icon in Cancun, US, Central America, Europe and beyond.

Sure he was the bandleader for acts that performed before Nelson and Winnie Mandela in Kingston National Stadium, or at the Bob Marley Song Celebration in Australia and if you ever saw any of the acts listed below performing live, its a good chance “Bingie” was the bandleader.

2020 Class Will Always Be Know For The 2020 Vision They Have Before Them

Too Busy for a Friend?Unknown Author

Not today

One day ateacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the roomon two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Thenshe told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each oftheir classmates and write it down.

Ittook the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and asthe students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

ThatSaturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separatesheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about thatindividual.

OnMonday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire classwas smiling. ‘Really?’ she heard whispered. ‘I never knew that I meantanything to anyone!’ and, ‘I didn’t know others liked me so much,’ were mostof the comments.

Noone ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if theydiscussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn’t matter.. Theexercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy withthemselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Severalyears later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of thatspecial student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffinbefore. He looked so handsome, so mature..

Thechurch was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took alast walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless thecoffin.

Asshe stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her.‘Were you Mark’s math teacher?’ he asked. She nodded: ‘yes.’ Then he said:‘Mark talked about you a lot.’

Afterthe funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates went together to a luncheon.Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with histeacher.

‘Wewant to show you something,’ his father said, taking a wallet out of hispocket ‘They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you mightrecognize it.’

Openingthe billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper thathad obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.. The teacher knewwithout looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed allthe good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him.

‘Thankyou so much for doing that,’ Mark’s mother said. ‘As you can see, Marktreasured it.’

Allof Mark’s former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rathersheepishly and said, ‘I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of mydesk at home.’

Chuck’swife said, ‘Chuck asked me to put his in our weddingalbum.’

‘Ihave mine too,’ Marilyn said. ‘It’s in mydiary’

ThenVicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her walletand showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. ‘I carry this with me atall times,’ Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: ‘Ithink we all saved our lists’

That’swhen the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for allhis friends who would never see him again.

Thedensity of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will endone day. And we don’t know when that one day willbe.

Soplease, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special andimportant. Tell them, before it is too late.

Today I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends. One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have
been married for 20+ years. We were chatting about our relationships and came up with the idea to amaze our men by greeting them at the door wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes and little if anything else.

We all agreed to meet in a few days afterward to exchange notes, and Here’s how it all went.

My engaged friend: The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, ‘You are the woman of my dreams. I love you.’ Then we made passionate love all night long.

The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and Mask over my eyes. When I opened the raincoat he didn’t say a word, but he started to tremble and we had wild sex all night.

Then I share my not so lucky story: When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra, Black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. When he came in the door and saw me he said, “What’s for dinner, Zorro?” I file for divorce the next day for Emotional & Mental Abuse

Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old healing technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1997, the US. National Institutes of Health (NIH) documented and publicized acupuncture’s safety and efficacy for treating a wide range of conditions.

One of the telling features of modern world is that a person can live perfectly comfortably by himself or herself. Historically, people lived together as a large family for many reasons: poverty, food, safety, traditions, money, inheritance laws and such. In many parts of the world—Asia, Africa, some parts of Europe and Latin America— these reasons still play a big role in making people live together. However, most people in Western countries have long abandoned the notion of living together in order to gain some benefits; instead, they prefer the convenience of living alone. Is it a good or bad thing?

Apart from being a philosophical question, living alone seems to be a practical question for many in Western world. However, first we have to define what it means to live alone. According to most researchers, it means literally living alone: there is no spouse, children, parents, or other relatives living with a person in question in his/her house. It is understandable. Given contemporary economic conditions, many people have to move frequently around the country or world to find a job. As such, close proximity to their families and friends often becomes impossible. A person has to establish a single household. According to Eric Klinenberg, the N.Y.U. sociology professor and author of the book Going Solo, in the 1950s about 22 percent of Americans households were single; nowadays the number is about 50 percent. The increase in single households is quite astonishing.

There are some obvious explanations. People are no longer ostracized because of living alone; it is becoming a norm. Moreover, compared to the 1950s, many women became quite capable of living by themselves, thus escaping centuries-old paradigm of being tied up to their husbands or families. As such, number of single households has increased. Moreover—thanks to modern technologies—most of us are now connected through the web, which gives us an illusion of being together with our families and friends, though virtually.

However, the increased popularity of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and similar vividly symbolize both our isolation and our yearning for a company. While we no longer share the facts of our lives with our relatives or neighbors face-to-face, we still want to share these details with them (and with some strangers along the way) via social media. Does it make us feeling closer to anybody? The question is still in the making. The whole phenomenon of social media is too new to recognize its long-term effects on our society. Surely, living alone allows for many benefits: doing whatever one wants without a fear of reprimand; spending money for what one wants (thus helping the country’s economy); having time to devote oneself to charitable causes one wants; freedom to pursue one’s passions and talents with abandon, and similar. On the other hand, can anything substitute for pleasure on your family members’ faces every day when you come home?

It is a personal question for everyone. One thing to remember is that every person’s life is precious and it is be better spent worthwhile, alone or with others.

The Navy announced in July 2014 that it plans to pay International Shipbreaking, a company in Texas, $3 million to rip the vessel apart. According to the Kitsap Sun, the sea service decided it would cost too much to turn it into a museum, and no other countries were interested in buying the 1,073-foot, 61,981-ton vessel.

At present 9,849 bills and resolutions containing 4,948 amendments have been introduced the United States Congress. Of those, on average only about 5% will become law. Those outstanding must be enacted before the end of the 2013-2015 session of the 113th Congress sometime before 3 JAN 2015. To date only 163 laws, of which only a few were veteran related, have been passed by both chambers and sent to the President for signature of which he has vetoed 6. This is only 1.7% of all introduced bills being signed 2 into law. On average about 5% become law. Thus the 113th Congress is often referred to as a “Do-nothing Congress”.

It is undeniable that being literate is one of the most important things a person needs to achieve in order to have a normal existence. From everyday things such as reading food labels, medication information, or household bills to more complex tasks such as reading and comprehending books and more difficult texts, reading enables a person to lead an independent and, hopefully, fulfilling life.

The US Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics differentiate between three types of literacy, “Prose literacy is the knowledge and skills needed to perform prose tasks (i.e., to search, comprehend, and use information from continuous texts, such as paragraphs from stories); document literacy is the knowledge and skills needed to perform document tasks (i.e., to search, comprehend, and use information from non-continuous texts in various formats, such as bills or prescription labels); and quantitative literacy is the knowledge and skills required to perform quantitative tasks (i.e., to identify and perform computations, either alone or sequentially, using numbers embedded in printed materials).” As such, according to their statistics dating from 2003, 22 percent of adults (those who are 16 or older) in the USA perform below basic in quantitative literacy, 14 percent of adults are below basic in prose literacy, and 12 percent in document literacy.

The consequences of being illiterate or functionally illiterate are overwhelming. There is a very high correlation between illiteracy and poverty, possible imprisonment, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of high school, and unemployment. For example, proliteracy.org provides the following numbers: 43 % of those who are at low literacy level live in poverty, 75 percent of state prison inmates and 59 percent of federal prison inmates are functionally illiterate, teenage girls at low literacy are four times more likely to become pregnant, $230 billion are added to government budget in health costs because of low literacy, and $ 225 billion are lost annually due to unemployment and lost taxes because of people at low literacy level.

How does the USA compare to other world countries? Total world illiterate population constitutes 16 percent with women being two-thirds of those. There are three major regions in the world with the lowest literacy scores: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and West Asia. However, according to 2011 statistics, the USA was the only free-market OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) country where current generation was less well-educated than the previous one. Based on US literacy levels, the USA is outperformed by such countries as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Canada and many others.

In modern world where access to information, education, and knowledge determines future success of any person, illiteracy is simply not an option. Therefore, it is truly disturbing that a country with such potential and wealth as the USA still fails to provide decent level of education for many people. Not only education budgets are routinely cut across the states, but higher education is also becoming more and more prohibitive money-wise for those who want to pursue college education. It would be highly advisable to learn from the countries which excel at providing education for their populations.

In each chamber of Congress, four forms of legislative measures may be introduced or submitted, and acted upon. These include bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. Resolutions are not laws but rather the statements of intent or declarations that affect the operations of Congress

Joint resolutions are legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill.

Concurrent resolutions are legislative measures adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law (is non-binding) and does not require the approval of the chief executive (president). Concurrent resolutions are typically adopted to regulate the internal affairs of the legislature that adopted it, or for other purposes where authority of law is not necessary-such as awards or recognitions

Simple resolutions are used to delegate official internal Congressional business.

To reduce cost and increase efficiency, the Department of Defense (DoD) is moving away from mailing letters with update information. This means that instead of a letter, you will get email notifications when there are important changes to your DoD benefits, including TRICARE. The email will link you to milConnect, a secure DoD website, where your personal information will be posted. The initial email you receive will give you an opportunity to “opt-out” of receiving emails and continue receiving paper notifications. Those who have not provided an email address or those who opt-out of receiving email notifications will receive a postcard stating that there is a change or update to their benefit. Even if you get a postcard you will still need to go to milConnect to read the letter because specific plan or protected health information (PHI) will not be printed on the postcard.

The United States of America is one the most popular countries in the world for people looking for asylum. According to US Department of State, since 1975 the USA has accepted more than three million refugees from different parts of the world; and, as The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development statistics demonstrates, in 2012 out of total number of 449 420 asylum seekers into OECD countries and Russian Federation, 68 thousand people came to the USA (next three major OECD countries for refugees are Germany (64540), France (54940) and Sweden (43890)). Who can be considered a refugee?

According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” As such, asylum seekers differ from refugees in their legal status, i.e. he or she can claim to be a refugee, but unless their claim is definitively evaluated by national asylum centers and they are granted official refugee status, an asylum seeker can be sent back to their home country. To further complicate things, in modern times millions of people choose to migrate in order to seek better opportunities for themselves and their families (for example, the so-called economic migrants), while refugees absolutely have to flee their home countries because of the fear of prosecution. As such, refugees and other types of migrants are subjects to different international and national laws.

In order for a person to receive a status of refugee, there are several steps which need to be undertaken. Usually, the first step is to register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the country to where the person has fled, which evaluates the case and determines whether a person is eligible for a refugee status. Then, depending on the specifics of the case, a person is either settled in the country to which he or she fled, safely sent to a home country, or re-settled in the third country (for example, the USA). Each year, the US government sets a “refugee quota,” i.e. the number of refugees who will be allowed into the country each fiscal year (for the last few years, the number was set at 70 thousand people). As such, each year the USA resettles the largest number of people who are eligible for resettlement into third countries worldwide. Of course, each refugee’s case is processed thoroughly by numerous governmental agencies and can take a long time. However, once a person is granted the right to resettle into the USA, there are many organizations which help him or her to successfully integrate and become contributing member of the American society.

The United States has always been dedicated to help those who are forced to flee their native countries because of insurmountable obstacles and often are extremely vulnerable. As such, the USA is still the country where a person can start his or her life anew without a fear of prosecution.

The Rastafarian movement was born in Jamaica in 1930 when news of the crowning of Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) as King of Ethiopia, attracted the attention of various Jamaicans who had been to some extent influenced by Marcus Garvey. Haile Selassie is known to be JAH because of his direct descendancy to King Menelik, (son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba) and King David and because of his inherited title, King of Kings, Lord of Lord, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, which identifies him as the living JAH whose coming was foretold in the Bible, Psalm 68.4, Revelation 5:2-5, 19:16, 22:16,

Various persons connected Garvey’s prophecies of the crowning of a black king who would deliver black people from their oppressors, with certain biblical passages that confirmed to them that Selassie was indeed the Messiah.

Interestingly, these persons are said to have reached this conclusion quite independently of each other.

Among the key figures in this birth of the Rastafarian philosophy were Leonard P. Howell, Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert, H. Archibald Dunkley and Robert Hinds. All were ministers, who formed separate groups based on this revelation.

Howell is the man most credited with the initial spreading of the Rastafarian way of life. He was a well-travelled man and was reported to have fought on African soil and to have command of several African languages.

Howell had stationed himself for a period of time in North America where the social ravages of racism were common practice. This directed his intent in working for necessary reforms. He began his ministry in the slums of Western Kingston, Jamaica.

Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert was a member of the Ancient Mystic Order of Ethiopia, a secret society, who after spending many years in Panama returned to Jamaica and began preaching of Emperor Haile Selassi as the returned Messiah. Hinds was his deputy. Hebbert started his mission in St. Andrew, and came to Kingston to find Howell preaching the same doctrine.

H. Archibald Dunkley, a Jamaican seaman, studied the Bible independently for over two years and concluded that Haile Selassie was indeed the Messiah that Marcus Garvey had prophesied. He started his mission in Port Antonio, Jamaica but soon moved to Kingston.

There were several other Ministers and preachers that preached the words and truth of Rastafarian as they perceived it, such as Paul Erlington, Vernal Davis and Ferdinand Ricketts.

By 1934, a solid nucleus of Rastafarian had been established in Kingston. Howell and Dunkley, in trumpeting the cause of Rastafarian, both paid penance. They were jailed and became targets of repeated harassment, with Dunkley also being committed to an asylum.

These encroachments on their personal freedom only ignited the ideologies and practical solutions that Garvey had offered and along with Mortimer Planno, one of Bobs first Rasta mentors, gave Bob Marley the yearning to embrace the Rastafarian way of life while still in his teens.

Mortimer Planno not only influenced Bob Marley but also was the liaison between the establishment and many of the Rastafarian community. Planno a well-educated articulate Rasta gained even more credibility when he greeted Haile Selassie upon his arrival to Jamaica in 1966.

Rastafarian is a challenge to Eurocentric values and a highly motivated thrust that seeks within its members its own cultural identity. The eye of the storm of Rastafarian is focused on the inherent right of a people who have long been “depressed”, to reposition them within the realms of the laws set by JAH.

Within Rastafarian teachings there are a few differences in terms of practice and structure, but all uphold his Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie as the return of the true Messiah. It should be pointed out that while the fountain flows with many streams of water it does not change the substance of the matter that spurts forward. Or you have many roads that lead to the promise land but only positive souls are allowed to ride on it to JAH’s house.

So it does not matter if you seek the truth about Rastafarian from the teaching of the Divine Theocracy Order of Nyabinghi, The Twelve Tribes of Israel, Ethiopia African International Congress, Ethiopian World Federation, Rastafarian Movement Association, Judah Coptic or the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, all follow the teachings of Ras Tafari. Example, Baptists, Protestants, Catholics and Methodists all follow the Christian teaching, through the spirit of Love and reality; there is an oneness in recognition of one JAH. (GOD)

Rastafarian is not dreadlocks and a spliff (joint). It is a way of life that is not dependent on feigned social freedoms. Rastafarian prefers to opt instead for something less material and more meaningful-truths and rights. In other words…being in the world but not of it.

Herb, Marijuana, Collie or Ganja is considered a Sacrament to Rastafarians and is used to act as a channel to a calm and conscious temporal spirit much as Christians and Jews use red wine. Rasta’s believe that this use of Ganja was granted to them by the words of Jesus in the fields of Zion, ” God gives man all green herbs, trees and plants bearing fruit with seeds” This he did while standing in a field of Cannabis. Genesis Book 1 verse 11,12,29; Rasta’s also believe that smoking Ganjas will allow them to use positive common consciousness.

To arrive at a clear and realistic view of Rastafarian, one has to see it for what it is – a way of life: not a myth, cult, sect or figment of any one individual’s imagination. Rastafarian is the adherence to basic life principles and the expression of them through positive means.

Socialization within the prescribed norms of the general populace has not been the aim of the Rastafarian. Thus, what has developed from Rastafari’s concerted effort to change is a more definitive and heightened cultural awareness through language, mode of dress, natural eating habits and seeking of a clear channel away from confines of captivity.

The Rastafarian way of life has taken up where the dread middle passage voyages sought to disconnect. The uncut, uncombed growth of hair, or “dreadlocks” as it is commonly referred to be the crowning antenna that keeps Rastafarian in tune. Sharp perceptions, and warnings of predatory dangers are the benefits.

Locks are not plaited, waxed or mixed with cow dung as many misinformed rumors have spread. Nor are they the habitations of the creeping creature known as the “forty Leg” or centipede.

There are many that through circumstances or choice do not wear the covenant, but are nonetheless principled. Of course there are also many in disguises that are masquerading charlatans and utilize that appearance to do other than good deeds. Dreadlocks are traceable to early civilizations of Africa, such as the Masai warriors along with other indigenous tribes.

The Rastafarian way of speaking or “reasoning” is not illiteracy, as some would have you believe, but the tailoring of the European language for more identifiable self-expression and modification of it to highlight the positive.

Changes in vocabulary and syntax are also a conscious act of protest against the established mores of “Babylon”. Babylon is an evil force, be it a place, person or persons, way of life or anything dealing with negativity and hate.

Babylon is antiprogressive, its sole mission is to confuse and persuade the positive loving righteous to change their way of believing.

One refers to one self as “I and I” to express divinity of the God that is ever present and within the individual. “I” is an assertion of individuality and of the importance of JAH.

“I” is substituted for all pronouns, such as “me”, “you”, “we”, “them”, which, are considered, too be detached. Because “I” is so important, the first syllables of certain words are replaced by the sound; so that “vital becomes “Ital.”, “ever” becomes “Iver”, “Ethiopia” becomes “Ithiopia”, “creation” becomes “Ireation”.

Rastafarian dress codes usually emphasize a prominence of the identity colors and styles. The Colors Red, Gold & Green play a significant part in the Rastafarian doctrine. Red is for the blood shed by the people, Gold is for wealth granted to his people and Green is for the Fertility of the Earth.

While Rastafarian continues to generate debate, its numbers are ever increasing. What more is left for foes of Rastafarian to do but stand aside and marvel at the sight of those who have endured innumerable indignities as they step progressively towards Zion. It seems to be in the interest of “men” manipulators (those of cowardly persuasion) to keep the righteous ignorant of who they are and to brainwash them to deny all existence of their originality.

But Rastafarian “bredren and sistren remain fastened to that which claims and no disowns them.

I hope this summary gives people a better understanding of the Roots and meanings of the Rastafarian Movement

From the writing of Malika Lee Whitney, Dermott Husssey, with excerpts from the Torah and the Bible; Summarized by Sirron Kyles, Executive Producer Annual Bob Marley Festival Tour